Harewood House going green after £1m investment

Yorkshire’s most prestigious stately home will soon be powered by green energy.

Harewood House is all set to switch from oil to biomass after a £1m plus investment in the wood-fired system.

It is all part of becoming more sustainable and self-sufficient.

Christopher Ussher

Heating bills of £150,000 a year for the gargantuan Georgian mansion and a desire to be self-sufficient prompted David Lascelles, Earl of Harewood, to find a sustainable alternative.

The new biomass boiler, fuelled by thinnings from the estate woodland, already supplies offices and homes on the Harewood estate and has cut fuel costs by up to 20 per cent.

Piping has now been extended to the main house and the big switch on is expected by May this year. The estate’s resident agent, Christopher Ussher, says: “The pipes are up to Harewood House and we are looking to take it to more remote properties and to some of the properties we own in the village. It is all part of becoming more sustainable and self-sufficient.”

The new heating system is being funded by the sale of 30 of the Harewood estate’s 85 cottages, which have been drip fed onto the market over the past two years.

A third batch of properties has just been released for sale through Carter Jonas and interest is high. They are all in desirable Harewood village and were designed by Yorkshire’s most famous architect, John Carr, who also created the grade one listed main house for Edwin Lascelles.

Selling part of the rental portfolio and putting the proceeds into green energy makes sense, says Lord Harewood, a keen conservationist.